The study by an international consortium of researchers from Rice University, the University of North Texas, Denton (UNT); the University of California, San Diego (UCSD); and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, may offer a path to therapies that could slow or stop tumours from developing.

The research found that reducing the expression of a pair of proteins known as NEETs - NAF-1 and mitoNEET - significantly reduced cancer cell proliferation and breast cancer tumour size.

The research stemmed from a recent Rice's Center for Theoretical Biological Physics (CTBP) study of the shape and functions of one of the proteins, mitoNEET. The other protein, NAF-1, is closely related to mitoNEET.

CTBP co-director Jose Onuchic, a biological physicist at Rice, said the new study was triggered by the team's recognition of a connection between NEETs and reduced rates of breast cancer among women who take a diabetes drug that targets mitoNEET.

"NEET proteins play a key role in the overall stress response of cells," Onuchic said.

"Anytime you stress a system, these proteins are there to help, but in cases where cells are overcome by stress, NEETs can become highly overexpressed. That's what drew our interest in a potential connection to cancer," he said.

The experiment found an overabundance of both mutant and NAF-1 in breast cancer cells. Moreover, the team found a direct correlation between NEET protein levels and the overall progression of the disease.

The results suggest that the overabundance of NEETs is a factor in the runaway growth of cancer cells, and that would make NEETs a prime target for anticancer drugs.